Not the most politically correct place...

written November 19, 2010
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY P.I.C JENN!!

Here are some random mini stories:
There isn't much of a variety of names here, for example I can't tell you how many Moussas, Oumous, Salimatas, or Brehmas I know, so it's fairly necessary that nicknames be given out. What is interesting to me is that these nicknames are usually not the nicest, or the most politically correct. For example there is a girl here who is named Sita and she isn't the skinniest girl in the village, but I wouldn't necessarily call her fat either, but everyone else in the village does. They call her Sita Ba which translates to big or fat Sita. Another example is my homologue who is a big dude and also very tall; they call him Le Gros, which is French for the big guy. There is also a man named Amadou that they call Amadou Noir, which means black Amadou because his skin is so dark. My homologue and others even joke that how can he be so black? He must paint himself every morning. Coming from an American background where we tread lightly on subjects like these, I find it a little uncomfortable to laugh at these nicknames with my fellow villagers, but it is all quite funny isn't it?
Moms here pretty much let their children eat and drink anything. I don't know how many times I've thought to myself 'aren't you gonna stop him/her, that's covered with dirt!' Mothers will hand their children food that has fallen on the ground instead of eating it themselves. They also will give children water to drink that has been used for hand-washing. It's pretty gross. I can't decide if it's terrible or kinda good because if you think about it, these mothers are building up there children's immunities.
Very few people, especially children, shout out Tubaboo when I pass by now. This is great! I feel like I'm fairly well immersed in my village, and that the majority of people know me. Pretty much everyone calls out my name, Gnire (pronounced gNeer- Ray, I think I may have gotten the pronunciation wrong in my earlier post on Site Visit), whenever I pass by. A few days ago a young woman even called out my name on a bus coming from Sikasso (she was from my village, but I'm pretty sure I had never met her before).
Exciting news! I found someone in my village who can do my hair! This was actually quite difficult because apparently the very simple plaits (braids) that I always get are considered a "modern style" and not many people know how to do them since no one in village ever gets them done. I think the reason no one ever gets them done is because it is kind of expensive to buy the hair (they call the weave/extensions/fake hair Meshi). Meshi costs about 1500 cfa (about $3) a pack and to do my hair I need 2 packs; 3000 cfa is considered quite a lot for something simple like hair. Anyway I'm really happy I found her because I don't like my hair lady in Sikasso; she's not very nice and she doesn't listen to me, however her braiding is impecable. My new village girl isn't the best, but she will do!